Drag City have today shared news of Bitchin Bajas (Cooper Crain, Rob Frye and Dan Quinlivan) new album Bajascillators, which arrives almost five years since their last official full-length, 2017’s Bajas Fresh.
The band’s outpourings have always been refreshingly diverse. They have included soundtracks, re-imagined cuts from Sun Ra’s catalogue, and collaborations with Natural Information Society and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy.
Their first album single is ‘Amorpha’ (which has gone straight to the top of our Alternative Vibes Playlist) underpins their singular trajectory which is quite unlike any other band out there. It’s accompanied by a video by Kyle Armstrong, who also directed the video for Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy’s 2015 “Blindlessness” single. Amorpha is also our Song of the Day.
In DC’s own words:
Bajascillators reflects the experiences — the changed and the changing — in the life and times of Bitchin Bajas these last five years. Like all the new gear on this one, for instance! Mastered directly from half-inch analogue tape, Bajascillators floats transparently from the speakers, its expansive grooves gathering resonance and building momentum over four sides, from genesis to re-conclusion, cascading ecstatically.
The first single, “Amorpha”, is a side-long shower of synthetic bells and bass (with bright cymbal accents provided by Mike Reed), as patterns interlock and repeat and the beat within the barlines shifts constantly, forming a new, latest miniature of infinity. Accompanied by visuals of a NASA launch, prepared by director Kyle Armstrong, the video for “Amorpha” emphasizes its circulating expansiveness with wave after wave of analogue synth tones and zones extending into a stratospheric arc.
As the world keeps turning, so too do Bitchin Bajas, in the same unknowable way. They are taking Bajascillators on the road this Fall (see below), with more dates just up ahead on the horizon. The brave new Bajas world is upon us. Bajascillators is out on 2xLP and cassette on September 2nd.
Pre-order the album now: https://ffm.to/bajascillators
Bitchin Bajas Tour Dates
Oct.12 – Minneapolis, MN @ Parkway Theater *
Oct.13 – Iowa City, IA @ Trumpet Blossom
Oct.14 – Rock Island, IL @ Rozz Tox
Oct.15 – Milwaukee, WI @ Promises *
Oct.16 – Chicago, IL @ Constellation *
*visuals by Nick Ciontea
Nov.29 – Indianapolis, IN @ State Street Pub
Nov.30 – Detroit, MI @ UFO Factory
Dec.1 – Toronto, ON, Canada @ Baby G’s
Dec.3 – Kingston, NY @ Tubby’s
Dec.4 – Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool
Dec.5 – Baltimore, MD @ Normal’s Books and Records
Dec.6 – Dec.7 – Philadelphia, PA @ Boot and Saddle presented by Ars Nova Workshop
Dec.8 – Washington DC @ Rhizome
Dec.9 – Durham, NC @ Shadowbox Studio
Dec.10 – Asheville, NC @ Revolve Sound
Dec.11 – Knoxville, TN @ Pilot Light
Dec.12 – Atlanta, GA @ 529
Dec.14 – St. Louis, MO @ Sink Hole